


Transliteration 4 - Elements

by thealphagate_archivist



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Drama
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-09-07
Updated: 2007-09-07
Packaged: 2019-02-02 02:44:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12718044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thealphagate_archivist/pseuds/thealphagate_archivist
Summary: Sometimes it's what you can't see that scares you most.





	Transliteration 4 - Elements

**Author's Note:**

> Note from the archivists: this story was originally archived at [The Alpha Gate](https://fanlore.org/wiki/The_Alpha_Gate), a Stargate SG-1 archive, which began migration to the AO3 in 2017 when its hosting software, eFiction, was no longer receiving support. To preserve the archive, we began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in November 2017. We e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are this creator and it hasn't transferred to your AO3 account, please contact us using the e-mail address on [The Alpha Gate collection profile](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/thealphagate).
> 
>  **Author's notes:** Season 7 but Janet is alive in this universe. Daniel's been downsized to a toddler with Jack as his guardian.

Leaning into the back seat of the truck, Jack lengthened the straps of the car seat. Daniel sat patiently, watching curiously as he adjusted, tested the new length and adjusted again. First his clothes and now this. It wasn’t his imagination - Daniel had grown quite a bit over the weekend. First stop would be a visit with Doctor Fraiser. Eventually satisfied with the fit, Jack snapped the buckle in place. 

“There.” He smiled at the little boy. “All better.” 

Pulling his Binky out, Daniel smiled back at him. “All better,” he repeated in a clear piping voice. 

Jack remembered adult Daniel telling him that he didn’t do baby talk the first time he learned to speak, and he didn’t do it this time either. What they’d thought was gibberish was actually an incredible polyglot representing nearly every one of the 23 languages Daniel had spoken as an adult, words that would only be recognized by a handful of people. It didn’t help that he had rarely used more than one word from each language in any given sentence or that his speech was garbled by the ever-present pacifier. Once Jack figured out what was going on, he reminded Daniel to speak in English. There’d been no problem understanding him since then. He was more concerned with his toys and treats than anything else and he asked a lot of questions. "Why" seemed to be his favorite word. He was a typical baby-just-learning-to-talk. 

Summer was finally easing into fall and this morning Jack could forgo the air conditioning on the ride to the mountain. Putting the windows down a little bit, he backed out of the driveway. As he navigated the suburban streets he thought about how odd his life had become in such a short time. How many other Special Ops Colonels with off-world experience had permission to bring their best friend, currently repackaged as a toddler, to work with them at a secret base? He was willing to bet it was a very low number. As much as he missed his best friend, taking care of a little boy again was touching him more deeply than he’d expected. He found himself instinctively reacting like a father. At times he even forgot that Daniel was not his son. He was going to miss that too, once they found a way to restore Daniel to his adult self. 

A startled gasp from the back seat interrupted his musings. Jack checked on his passenger through the rear view mirror. Daniel’s eyes were wide open, face twisted up into a grimace, shoulders hunched. His Binky had fallen into his lap and he pressed one hand on the top of his head. Jack slowed his speed and made note of the traffic around him, prepared to pull over if necessary. 

“Daniel?” He focused on the boy, doing a quick head to toe assessment. “What’s wrong, honey?” 

“My hair!” Daniel’s voice was shaky with fear. “Jack! My hair!” 

Careful to keep one eye on the road, Jack looked in the mirror at Daniel’s head. Same wispy blonde hair that he had had when Jack put him in the truck a few minutes ago. “What about your hair? What’s wrong with it?” 

“It’s MOVING!” 

Jack could see the baby-fine hair waving in the wind, even the tufts peeking out from between the stubby fingers. 

Frightened blue eyes welled up. “It’s moving ALL BY ITSELF!” 

Oh yeah. Definite panic there. Jack pulled over to the side of the road, coming to a smooth stop. Unbuckling, he turned around, reaching between the seats to put one hand on the boy’s chest. The little body was trembling, heart racing. Rubbing gently in circles, he spoke in his best “Daddy's Here” voice. That had always worked like a charm on Charlie. 

“Hey, hey, it’s all right. We’ve got the windows down, honey. That’s just the wind coming in to tickle you and play with your hair. You’ve felt the wind before. You feel it every time you play outside, right? It’s just stronger today because we’re driving fast.” 

The trembling under his hand eased up. He felt the little heart slow down. He ran his hand through the boy’s hair, keeping his movements slow and soothing. 

“Wind?” A couple of tears rolled down the plump cheeks. 

Jack nodded, smiling reassuringly. “That’s right – wind. You can’t see it but you can feel it. It’s just the air moving around us.” 

“Shifu came out of the wind.” The sweet voice had a dreamy quality to it. His eyes stared off into the far distance. 

"What?" Stunned, Jack stopped all motions, his hand cupping the back of Daniel’s head. A chill ran down his spine as his stomach tightened. “What did you say?” 

Daniel blinked once, very slowly, then focused his attention back on Jack. “When?” 

“Just now” The boy knew all the languages Daniel had learned right up until The Incident, but this was the first time he had ever spoken directly of events from Daniel's adulthood. 

“You said wind tickled me.” 

Whatever had happened, he seemed to have snapped out of it, but Jack persisted. “And what did you say after that?” 

“Are we going to the mountain today?” The little face looked up at him serenely, Jack’s question already forgotten. 

“Daniel,” he asked cautiously, “do you remember Shifu?” 

His nose wrinkled up as he thought about it. “Who?” 

“Shifu. Little guy? Harcesis?” Jack could feel his palms start to sweat. 

Daniel popped his Binky back in his mouth and chatted around it. “Will Teal’c be at the mountain? I like Teal’c. He’s big!” 

Jack drew in a deep breath to steady himself. “Yes, he is big, isn’t he?” One last pat of a rosy cheek and Jack shifted back into the driver’s seat. Buckling up, he was pleased to see that his hands weren’t shaking. “Teal’c will be there today so you can say hi.” 

“Can I play with him?”

Jack eased the truck back into traffic. “If he has time, you can.” 

But first, he thought, I’m taking you to see Fraiser. 

Finis


End file.
